Science fiction
is featured in H. G. Wells' 1897 novel The War of the Worlds.]] was predicted in August 1958 in the science fiction magazine Imagination.]] Science fiction (sometimes called Sci-Fi or simply SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that has been called the "literature of ideas". It typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, time travel, parallel universes, fictional worlds, space exploration, and extraterrestrial life. It often explores the potential consequences of scientific innovations. Science fiction, whose roots go back to ancient times, is related to fantasy, horror, and superhero fiction, and includes many subgenres. However its exact definition has long been disputed among authors, critics, and scholars. Science fiction literature, film, television, and other media have become popular and influential over much of the world. Besides providing entertainment, it can also criticizes present-day society, and is often said to generate a "sense of wonder".Prucher, Jeff (ed.). Brave New Words. The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction (Oxford University Press, 2007) page 179 Definitions "Science fiction" is difficult to define precisely, as it includes a wide range of concepts and themes. James Blish wrote: "Wells used the term originally to cover what we would today call "hard" science fiction, in which a conscientious attempt to be faithful to already known facts (as of the date of writing) was the substrate on which the story was to be built, and if the story was also to contain a miracle, it ought at least not to contain a whole arsenal of them."James Blish,'' More Issues at Hand'', Advent: Publishers, 1970. Pg. 99. Also in Jesse Sheidlower, "Dictionary citations for the term «hard science fiction»". Jessesword.com. Last modified 6 July 2008. Isaac Asimov said: "Science fiction can be defined as that branch of literature which deals with the reaction of human beings to changes in science and technology."Asimov, "How Easy to See the Future!", Natural History, 1975 According to Robert A. Heinlein, "A handy short definition of almost all science fiction might read: realistic speculation about possible future events, based solidly on adequate knowledge of the real world, past and present, and on a thorough understanding of the nature and significance of the scientific method." Tom Shippey compared George Orwell's Coming Up for Air (1939) with Frederick Pohl and C. M. Kornbluth's The Space Merchants (1952), and concluded that the basic building block and distinguishing feature of a science fiction novel is the presence of the novum, a term Darko Suvin adapted from Ernst Bloch and defined as "a discrete piece of information recognizable as not-true, but also as not-unlike-true, not-flatly- (and in the current state of knowledge) impossible." Lester del Rey wrote, "Even the devoted aficionado or fan—has a hard time trying to explain what science fiction is," and that the reason for there not being a "full satisfactory definition" is that "there are no easily delineated limits to science fiction." Author and editor Damon Knight summed up the difficulty, saying "science fiction is what we point to when we say it." Mark C. Glassey described the definition of science fiction as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart did with the definition of pornography: "I know it when I see it."378 U.S. 184, 197 (1964). History for Lucian's A True Story |upright]] Science fiction is a modern genre. Though writers in antiquity sometimes dealt with themes common to modern science fiction, their stories made no attempt at scientific and technological plausibility, the feature that distinguishes science fiction from earlier speculative writings as well as from other contemporary speculative genres such as fantasy and horror. Science fiction had its beginnings in ancient times when the line between myth and fact were blurred. Written in the 2nd century CE by the satirist Lucian, A True Story contains many themes and tropes that are characteristic of modern science fiction, including travel to other worlds, extraterrestrial lifeforms, interplanetary warfare, and artificial life. Some consider it the first science-fiction novel.Fredericks, S.C.: "Lucian's True History as SF", Science Fiction Studies, Vol. 3, No. 1 (March 1976), pp. 49–60Georgiadou, Aristoula & Larmour, David H.J.: "Lucian's Science Fiction Novel True Histories. Interpretation and Commentary", Mnemosyne Supplement 179, Leiden 1998, , IntroductionGrewell, Greg: "Colonizing the Universe: Science Fictions Then, Now, and in the (Imagined) Future", Rocky Mountain Review of Language and Literature, Vol. 55, No. 2 (2001), pp. 25–47 (30f.)Gunn, James E., The New Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Viking, 1988, , p. 249, calls it "Proto-Science Fiction."Swanson, Roy Arthur: "The True, the False, and the Truly False: Lucian's Philosophical Science Fiction", Science Fiction Studies, Vol. 3, No. 3 (Nov. 1976), pp. 227–239 Some of the stories from The Arabian Nights, along with the 10th-century The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter and Ibn al-Nafis's 13th-century Theologus Autodidactus, also contain elements of science fiction. Products of the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment, Johannes Kepler's Somnium (1634), Francis Bacon's New Atlantis (1627), Cyrano de Bergerac's Comical History of the States and Empires of the Moon (1657) and The States and Empires of the Sun (1662), Margaret Cavendish's "The Blazing World" (1666), Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels (1726), Ludvig Holberg's Nicolai Klimii Iter Subterraneum (1741) and Voltaire's Micromégas (1752) are regarded as some of the first true science-fantasy works.Khanna, Lee Cullen. "The Subject of Utopia: Margaret Cavendish and Her Blazing-World." Utopian and Science Fiction by Women: World of Difference. Syracuse: Syracuse UP, 1994. 15–34. Isaac Asimov and Carl Sagan considered Somnium the first science-fiction story; it depicts a journey to the Moon and how the Earth's motion is seen from there. Following the 18th-century development of the novel as a literary form, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818) and The Last Man (1826) helped define the form of the science-fiction novel. Brian Aldiss has argued that Frankenstein was the first work of science fiction. Edgar Allan Poe wrote several stories considered science fiction, including "The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall" (1835) which featured a trip to the Moon.Tresch, John (2002). "Extra! Extra! Poe invents science fiction". In Hayes, Kevin J. The Cambridge Companion to Edgar Allan Poe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 113–132. . Jules Verne was noted for his attention to detail and scientific accuracy, especially Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870). In 1887, the novel El anacronópete by Spanish author Enrique Gaspar y Rimbau introduced the first time machine.La obra narrativa de Enrique Gaspar: El Anacronópete (1887), María de los Ángeles Ayala, Universidad de Alicante. Del Romanticismo al Realismo : Actas del I Coloquio de la S. L. E. S. XIX , Barcelona, 24–26 October 1996 / edited by Luis F. Díaz Larios, Enrique Miralles.El anacronópete, English translation (2014), www.storypilot.com, Michael Main, accessed 13 April 2016 ]] Many critics consider H. G. Wells one of science fiction's most important authors,Adam Charles Roberts (2000), "The History of Science Fiction", page 48. In Science Fiction, Routledge, . or even "the Shakespeare of science fiction." His notable science-fiction works include The Time Machine (1895), The Island of Doctor Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), and The War of the Worlds (1898). His science fiction imagined alien invasion, biological engineering, invisibility, and time travel. In his non-fiction futurologist works he predicted the advent of airplanes, military tanks, nuclear weapons, satellite television, space travel, and something resembling the World Wide Web. Edgar Rice Burroughs' A Princess of Mars, published in 1912, was the first of his three-decade-long planetary romance series of Barsoom novels which were set on Mars and featured John Carter as the hero.Porges, Irwin (1975). Edgar Rice Burroughs. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press. . In 1926, Hugo Gernsback published the first American science-fiction magazine, Amazing Stories. In its first issue he wrote: Edwards, Malcolm J.; Nicholls, Peter (1995). "SF Magazines". In John Clute and Peter Nicholls. ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction ''(Updated ed.). New York: St Martin's Griffin. p. 1066. .}} In 1928, E. E. "Doc" Smith's first published work, ''The Skylark of Space, written in collaboration with Lee Hawkins Garby, appeared in Amazing Stories. It is often called the first great space opera. The same year, Philip Francis Nowlan's original Buck Rogers story, Armageddon 2419, also appeared in Amazing Stories. This was followed by a Buck Rogers comic strip, the first serious science-fiction comic. In 1937, John W. Campbell became editor of Astounding Science Fiction, an event which is sometimes considered the beginning of the Golden Age of Science Fiction, which is characterized by stories celebrating scientific achievement and progress. In 1942, Isaac Asimov started his Foundation series, which chronicles the rise and fall of galactic empires and introduced psychohistory. The "Golden Age" is often said to have ended in 1946, but sometimes the late 1940s and the 1950s are included.Nicholls, Peter (1981) The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Granada, p. 258 George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, published in 1949, is an important work of dystopian science fiction. Theodore Sturgeon's More Than Human (1953) explored possible future human evolution."Time and Space", Hartford Courant, 7 February 1954, p.SM19"Reviews: November 1975", Science Fiction Studies, November 1975Aldiss & Wingrove, Trillion Year Spree, Victor Gollancz, 1986, p.237 In 1957, Andromeda: A Space-Age Tale by the Russian writer and paleontologist Ivan Yefremov presented a view of a future interstellar communist civilization and is considered one of the most important Soviet science fiction novels. In 1959, Robert A. Heinlein's Starship Troopers marked a departure from his earlier juvenile stories and novels. It is one of the first and most influential examples of military science fiction, and introduced the concept of powered armor exoskeletons. The German space opera series Perry Rhodan, written by various authors, started in 1961 with an account of the first Moon landing and has since expanded in space to multiple universes, and in time by billions of years. It has become the most popular science fiction book series of all time.Mike Ashley; Michael Ashley (14 May 2007). Gateways to Forever: The Story of the Science-Fiction Magazines from 1970–1980. Liverpool University Press. p. 218. . In the 1960s and 1970s, New Wave science fiction was known for its embrace of a high degree of experimentation, both in form and in content, and a highbrow and self-consciously "literary" or "artistic" sensibility. In 1961, Solaris by Stanisław Lem was published in Poland.Peter Swirski (ed), The Art and Science of Stanislaw Lem, McGill-Queen's University Press, 2008, The novel dealt with the theme of human limitations as its characters attempted to study a seemingly intelligent ocean on a newly discovered planet.Stanislaw Lem, Fantastyka i Futuriologia, Wedawnictwo Literackie, 1989, vol. 2, p. 365''Benét's Reader's Encyclopedia'', fourth edition (1996), p. 590. 1965's Dune by Frank Herbert featured a much more complex and detailed imagined future society than had previous science fiction. In 1968, Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, was published. It is the literary source of the Blade Runner movie franchise.Sammon, Paul M. (1996). Future Noir: the Making of Blade Runner. London: Orion Media. p. 49. . 1969's The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin was set on a planet in which the inhabitants have no fixed gender. It is one of the most influential examples of social science fiction, feminist science fiction, and anthropological science fiction.Stover, Leon E. "Anthropology and Science Fiction" Current Anthropology, Vol. 14, No. 4 (Oct. 1973)Reid, Suzanne Elizabeth (1997). Presenting Ursula Le Guin. New York, New York, USA: Twayne. , pp=9, 120Spivack, Charlotte (1984). Ursula K. Le Guin (1st ed.). Boston, Massachusetts, USA: Twayne Publishers. .,pp=44–50 In 1976, C. J. Cherryh published Gate of Ivrel and Brothers of Earth, which began her Alliance-Union universe future history series. In 1979, Science Fiction World began publication in the People's Republic of China. It dominates the Chinese science fiction magazine market, at one time claiming a circulation of 300,000 copies per issue and an estimated 3-5 readers per copy (giving it a total estimated readership of at least 1 million), making it the world's most popular science fiction periodical. In 1984, William Gibson's first novel, Neuromancer, helped popularize cyberpunk and the word "cyberspace," a term he originally coined in his 1982 short story Burning Chrome.Fitting, Peter (July 1991). "The Lessons of Cyberpunk". In Penley, C.; Ross, A. Technoculture. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. pp. 295–315 In 1986, Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold began her Vorkosigan Saga. Loud Achievements: Lois McMaster Bujold's Science Fiction in New York Review of Science Fiction, October 1998 (Number 122) 1992's Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson predicted immense social upheaval due to the information revolution. In 2007, Liu Cixin's novel, The Three-Body Problem, was published in China. It was translated into English by Ken Liu and published by Tor Books in 2014, and won the 2015 Hugo Award for Best Novel, making Liu the first Asian writer to win the award.Chen, Andrea. "Out of this world: Chinese sci-fi author Liu Cixin is Asia's first writer to win Hugo award for best novel." South China Morning Post. Monday 24 August 2015. Retrieved on 27 August 2015. Emerging themes in late 20th and early 21st century science fiction include environmental issues, the implications of the Internet and the expanding information universe, questions about biotechnology, nanotechnology, and post-scarcity societies. Recent trends and subgenres include steampunk, biopunk, and mundane science fiction. Film from the 1927 film Metropolis]] The first, or at least one of the first, recorded science fiction film is 1902's A Trip to the Moon, directed by French filmmaker Georges Méliès. It was profoundly influential on later filmmakers, bringing a different kind of creativity and fantasy to the cinematic medium. In addition, Méliès's innovative editing and special effects techniques were widely imitated and became important elements of the medium. 1927's Metropolis, directed by Fritz Lang, is the first feature-length science fiction film.SciFi Film History - Metropolis (1927) – Though most agree that the first science fiction film was Georges Méliès' A Trip to the Moon (1902), Metropolis (1926) is the first feature length outing of the genre. (scififilmhistory.com, retrieved 15 May 2013) Though not well-received in its time, it is now considered a great and influential film. In 1954, Godzilla, directed by Ishirō Honda, began the kaiju subgenre of science fiction film, which feature large creatures of any form, usually attacking a major city or engaging other monsters in battle. 1968's 2001: A Space Odyssey, directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on the work of Arthur C. Clarke, rose above the mostly B-movie offerings up to that time, both in scope and quality, and greatly influenced later science fiction films. In Focus on the Science Fiction Film, edited by William Johnson. Englewood Cliff, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1972. That same year, Planet of the Apes (the original), directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and based on the 1963 French novel La Planète des Singes by Pierre Boulle, was released to popular and critical acclaim, due in large part to its vivid depiction of a post-apocalyptic world in which intelligent apes dominate humans.Russo, Joe; Landsman, Larry; Gross, Edward (2001). Planet of the Apes Revisited: The Behind-The Scenes Story of the Classic Science Fiction Saga (1st ed.). New York: Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Griffin. . In 1977, George Lucas began the ''Star Wars'' film series with the film now identified as "Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope." The series, often called a space opera, went on to become a worldwide popular culture phenomenon, Lucasfilm.com|website=Lucasfilm|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-30}} and the second-highest-grossing film series of all time. Since the 1980s, science fiction films, along with fantasy, horror, and superhero films, have dominated Hollywood's big-budget productions. Escape Velocity: American Science Fiction Film, 1950–1982, Bradley Schauer, Wesleyan University Press, 3 January 2017, page 7 Science fiction films often "cross-over" with other genres, including animation (WALL-E - 2008, Big Hero 6 - 2014), gangster (Sky Racket - 1937), Western (Serenity - 2005), comedy (Spaceballs -1987, Galaxy Quest - 1999), war (Enemy Mine - 1985), action (Edge of Tomorrow - 2014, The Matrix - 1999), adventure (Jupiter Ascending - 2015, Interstellar - 2014), sports (Rollerball - 1975), mystery (Minority Report - 2002), thriller (Ex Machina - 2014), horror (Alien - 1979), film noir (Blade Runner - 1982), superhero (Marvel Cinematic Universe - 2008-), drama (Arrival - 2016, A.I.: Artificial Intelligence -2001), and romantic comedy (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - 2004).Science Fiction Film: A Critical Introduction, Keith M. Johnston, Berg, 9 May 2013, pages 24–25. Some of the examples are given by this book. Television Science fiction and television have consistently been in a close relationship. Television or television-like technologies frequently appeared in science fiction long before television itself became widely available in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Science Fiction TV, J. P. Telotte, Routledge, 26 March 2014, pages 112, 179 The first known science fiction television program was a thirty-five-minute adapted excerpt of the play RUR, written by the Czech playwright Karel Čapek, broadcast live from the BBC's Alexandra Palace studios on 11 February 1938. The first popular science fiction program on American television was the children's adventure serial Captain Video and His Video Rangers, which ran from June 1949 to April 1955. The Twilight Zone (the original series), produced and narrated by Rod Serling, who also wrote or co-wrote most of the episodes, ran from 1959 to 1964. It featured fantasy, suspense, and horror as well as science fiction, with each episode being a complete story. Critics have ranked it as one of the best TV programs of any genre. The animated series The Jetsons, while intended as comedy and only running for one season (1962–1963), predicted many inventions now in common use: flat-screen televisions, newspapers on a computer-like screen, computer viruses, video chat, tanning beds, home treadmills, and more. In 1963, the time travel-themed Doctor Who premiered on BBC Television. The original series ran until 1989 and was revived in 2005. It has been extremely popular worldwide and has greatly influenced later TV science fiction. Other programs in the 1960s included The Outer Limits (1963-1965), Lost in Space (1965-1968), and The Prisoner (1967).British Science Fiction Television: A Hitchhiker's Guide, John R. Cook, Peter Wright, I.B.Tauris, 6 January 2006, page 9Gowran, Clay. "Nielsen Ratings Are Dim on New Shows." Chicago Tribune. 11 October 1966: B10.Gould, Jack. "How Does Your Favorite Rate? Maybe Higher Than You Think." New York Times. 16 October 1966: 129. Star Trek (the original series), created by Gene Roddenberry, premiered in 1966 on NBC Television and ran for three seasons. It combined elements of space opera and Space Western. Only mildly successful at first, the series gained popularity through syndication and extraordinary fan interest. It became a very popular and influential franchise with many films and television shows, novels, and other works and products.Roddenberry, Gene (11 March 1964). [http://leethomson.myzen.co.uk/Star_Trek/1_Original_Series/Star_Trek_Pitch.pdf Star Trek Pitch], first draft. Accessed at LeeThomson.myzen.co.uk. Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994) led to four additional Star Trek shows (Deep Space 9 (1993-1999), Voyager (1995-2001),'' ''Enterprise (2001-2005), and Discovery (2017-present))--with more in some form of development. The miniseries ''V'' premiered in 1983 on NBC.Bedell, Sally (1983-05-04). "'V' SERIES AN NBC HIT". The New York Times. p. 27 It depicted an attempted takeover of Earth by reptilian aliens. Red Dwarf, a comic science fiction series aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999, and on Dave since 2009. The X-Files, which featured UFOs and conspiracy theories, was created by Chris Carter and broadcast by Fox Broadcasting Company from 1993 to 2002, and again from 2016-2018. TV Guide|date=10 January 2018|website=TVGuide.com|language=en|access-date=2019-03-30}} Stargate, a film about ancient astronauts and interstellar teleportation, was released in 1994. Stargate SG-1 premiered in 1997 and ran for 10 seasons (1997-2007). Spin-off series included Stargate Infinity (2002-2003), Stargate Atlantis (2004-2009), and Stargate Universe (2009-2011). s world record |publisher=GateWorld |date=10 May 2011 |accessdate=23 February 2014}} Other 1990s series included Quantum Leap (1989-1993) and Babylon 5 (1994-1999).* SyFy, launched in 1992 as The Sci-Fi Channel, specializes in science fiction, supernatural horror, and fantasy. Social influence Science fiction's great rise in popularity during the first half of the 20th century was closely tied to the popular respect paid to science at that time, as well as the rapid pace of technological innovation and new inventions.Astounding Wonder: Imagining Science and Science Fiction in Interwar America, John Cheng, University of Pennsylvania Press, 19 March 2012 pages 1–12. Science fiction has often predicted scientific and technological progress. Some works predict that new inventions and progress will tend to improve life and society, for instance the stories of Arthur C. Clarke and Star Trek. Others, such as H.G. Wells's The Time Machine and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, warn about possible negative consequences.The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Themes, Works, and Wonders, Volume 2, Gary Westfahl, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005 In 2001 the National Science Foundation conducted a survey on "Public Attitudes and Public Understanding: Science Fiction and Pseudoscience." It found that people who read or prefer science fiction may think about or relate to science differently than other people. They also tend to support the space program and the idea of contacting extraterrestrial civilizations. Carl Sagan wrote: "Many scientists deeply involved in the exploration of the solar system (myself among them) were first turned in that direction by science fiction." Brian Aldiss described science fiction as "cultural wallpaper." Evidence for this widespread influence can be found in trends for writers to employ science fiction as a tool for advocacy and generating cultural insights, as well as for educators when teaching across a range of academic disciplines not limited to the natural sciences. Scholar and science fiction critic George Edgar Slusser said that science fiction "is the one real international literary form we have today, and as such has branched out to visual media, interactive media and on to whatever new media the world will invent in the 21st century. Crossover issues between the sciences and the humanities are crucial for the century to come." As protest literature 's Nineteen Eighty-Four, on a standing piece of the Berlin Wall (sometime after 1998)]] Science fiction has sometimes been used as a means of social protest. James Cameron's 2009 film Avatar was intended as a protest against imperialism, and specifically the European colonization of the Americas. Its images were used by, among others, Palestinians in their protest against Israel.Science Fiction Film, Television, and Adaptation: Across the Screens, Jay Telotte, Gerald Duchovnay, Routledge, 2 August 2011 George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four is often invoked in protests against governments and leaders who are seen as totalitarian. Robots, artificial humans, human clones, intelligent computers, and their possible conflicts with human society have all been major themes of science fiction since, at least, the publication of Shelly's Frankenstein. Some critics have seen this as reflecting authors’ concerns over the social alienation seen in modern society.Androids, Humanoids, and Other Science Fiction Monsters: Science and Soul in Science Fiction Films, Per Schelde, NYU Press, 1994, pages 1–10 Feminist science fiction poses questions about social issues such as how society constructs gender roles, the role reproduction plays in defining gender, and the inequitable political or personal power of one gender over others. Some works have illustrated these themes using utopias to explore a society in which gender differences or gender power imbalances do not exist, or dystopias to explore worlds in which gender inequalities are intensified, thus asserting a need for feminist work to continue. Libertarian science fiction focuses on the politics and social order implied by right libertarian philosophies with an emphasis on individualism and private property, and in some cases anti-statism. Climate fiction, or "cli-fi," deals with issues concerning climate change and global warming.Glass, Rodge (31 May 2013). "Global Warning: The Rise of 'Cli-fi'" retrieved 3 March 2016 University courses on literature and environmental issues may include climate change fiction in their syllabi, and it is often discussed by other media outside of science fiction fandom. Comic science fiction often satirizes and criticizes present-day society, and sometimes makes fun of the conventions and clichés of more serious science fiction.The Animal Fable in Science Fiction and Fantasy, Bruce Shaw, McFarland, 2010, page 19 Sense of wonder Science fiction is often said to generate a "sense of wonder." Science fiction editor and critic David Hartwell wrote: "Science fiction’s appeal lies in combination of the rational, the believable, with the miraculous. It is an appeal to the sense of wonder."Hartwell, David. Age of Wonders (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1985, page 42) Carl Sagan said: "One of the great benefits of science fiction is that it can convey bits and pieces, hints and phrases, of knowledge unknown or inaccessible to the reader . . . works you ponder over as the water is running out of the bathtub or as you walk through the woods in an early winter snowfall." In 1967, Isaac Asimov commented on the changes then occurring in the science fiction community: "And because today’s real life so resembles day-before-yesterday’s fantasy, the old-time fans are restless. Deep within, whether they admit it or not, is a feeling of disappointment and even outrage that the outer world has invaded their private domain. They feel the loss of a 'sense of wonder' because what was once truly confined to 'wonder' has now become prosaic and mundane."Asimov, Isaac. ‘Forward 1 – The Second Revolution’ in Ellison, Harlan (ed.). Dangerous Visions (London: Victor Gollancz, 1987) Science fiction studies The study of science fiction, or science fiction studies, is the critical assessment, interpretation, and discussion of science fiction literature, film, TV shows, new media, fandom, and fan fiction. Science fiction scholars study science fiction to better understand it and its relationship to science, technology, politics, other genres, and culture-at-large. Project Hieroglyph|website=hieroglyph.asu.edu|access-date=2019-04-04}} Science fiction studies began around the turn of the 20th century, but it was not until later that science fiction studies solidified as a discipline with the publication of the academic journals Extrapolation (1959), Foundation: The International Review of Science Fiction (1972), and Science Fiction Studies (1973), and the establishment of the oldest organizations devoted to the study of science fiction in 1970, the Science Fiction Research Association and the Science Fiction Foundation. The field has grown considerably since the 1970s with the establishment of more journals, organizations, and conferences, as well as science fiction degree-granting programs such as those offered by the University of Liverpool and the University of Kansas. Classification Science fiction has historically been sub-divided between hard science fiction and soft science fiction–with the division centering on the feasibility of the science central to the story. However, this distinction has come under increasing scrutiny in the 21st century. Some authors, such as Tade Thompson and Jeff VanderMeer, have pointed out that stories that focus explicitly on physics, astronomy, mathematics, and engineering tend to be considered "hard" science fiction, while stories that focus on botany, mycology, zoology, and the social sciences tend to be categorized as "soft," regardless of the relative rigor of the science. Max Gladstone defined "hard" science fiction as stories "where the math works," but pointed out that this ends up with stories that often seem "weirdly dated," as scientific paradigms shift over time. Michael Swanwick dismissed the traditional definition of "hard" SF altogether, instead saying that it was defined by characters striving to solve problems "in the right way–with determination, a touch of stoicism, and the consciousness that the universe is not on his or her side." Ursula K. Leguin also criticized the more traditional view on the difference between "hard" and "soft" SF: "The 'hard' science fiction writers dismiss everything except, well, physics, astronomy, and maybe chemistry. Biology, sociology, anthropology—that's not science to them, that's soft stuff. They're not that interested in what human beings do, really. But I am. I draw on the social sciences a great deal." As serious literature for 1831 edition of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. ]] Respected authors of main-stream literature have written science fiction. Mary Shelley wrote a number of science fiction novels including Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818), and is considered a major writer of the Romantic Age. Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (1932) is often listed as one of England's most important novels, both for its criticism of modern culture and its prediction of future trends including reproductive technology and social engineering.Ludwig von Mises (1944). Bureaucracy, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, p 110 This ranking was by the Modern Library Editorial Board of authors. "BBC – The Big Read". BBC. April 2003, Retrieved 26 October 2012 Kurt Vonnegut was a highly respected American author whose works contain science fiction premises or themes. Other science fiction authors whose works are widely considered to be "serious" literature include Ray Bradbury (including, especially, Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and The Martian Chronicles (1951)), Arthur C. Clarke (especially for Childhood's End),Barlowe, Wayne Douglas (1987). Barlowe's Guide to Extraterrestrials. Workman Publishing Company. .Baxter, John (1997). "Kubrick Beyond the Infinite". Stanley Kubrick: A Biography. Basic Books. pp. 199–230. . and Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger, writing under the name Cordwainer Smith.Gary K. Wolfe and Carol T. Williams, "The Majesty of Kindness: The Dialectic of Cordwainer Smith", Voices for the Future: Essays on Major Science Fiction Writers, Volume 3, Thomas D. Clareson editor, Popular Press, 1983, pages 53–72. In her much reprinted essay "Science Fiction and Mrs Brown," American author Ursula K. Le Guin first asked: "Can a science fiction writer write a novel?"; and then answered: "I believe that all novels, . . . deal with character, and that it is to express character–not to preach doctrines, sing songs, or celebrate the glories of the British Empire, that the form of the novel, so clumsy, verbose, and undramatic, so rich, elastic, and alive, has been evolved. . . . The great novelists have brought us to see whatever they wish us to see through some character. Otherwise they would not be novelists, but poets, historians, or pamphleteers." Orson Scott Card, best known for his 1985 science fiction novel Ender's Game and also an author of non-SF fiction, Authors Macmillan|website=US Macmillan|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-04}} has postulated that in science fiction the message and intellectual significance of the work is contained within the story itself and, therefore, there need not be stylistic gimmicks or literary games. Science fiction author and physicist Gregory Benford has stated: "SF is perhaps the defining genre of the twentieth century, although its conquering armies are still camped outside the Rome of the literary citadels." Jonathan Lethem, in an essay published in the Village Voice entitled "Close Encounters: The Squandered Promise of Science Fiction," suggested that the point in 1973 when Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow was nominated for the Nebula Award and was passed over in favor of Arthur C. Clarke's Rendezvous with Rama, stands as "a hidden tombstone marking the death of the hope that SF was about to merge with the mainstream." David Barnett has pointed out that there are books such as The Road (2006) by Cormac McCarthy, Cloud Atlas (2004) by David Mitchell, The Gone-Away World (2008) by Nick Harkaway, The Stone Gods (2007) by Jeanette Winterson, and Oryx and Crake (2003) by Margaret Atwood, which use recognizable science fiction tropes, but whose authors and publishers do not market them as science fiction. Doris Lessing, who was later awarded the Nobel Prize in literature, wrote a series of five SF novels, Canopus in Argos: Archives (1979-1983), which depict the efforts of more advanced species and civilizations to influence those less advanced, including humans on Earth. Community Authors Science fiction is being written, and has been written, by diverse authors from around the world. According to 2013 statistics by the science fiction publisher Tor Books, men outnumber women by 78% to 22% among submissions to the publisher. (See full statistics) A controversy about voting slates in the 2015 Hugo Awards highlighted tensions in the science fiction community between a trend of increasingly diverse works and authors being honored by awards, and reaction by groups of authors and fans who preferred what they considered more "traditional" science fiction. Awards Among the most respected and well-known awards for science fiction are the Hugo Award for literature, presented by the World Science Fiction Society at Worldcon, and voted on by fans; the Nebula Award for literature, presented by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, and voted on by the community of authors; the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, presented by a jury of writers; and the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award for short fiction, presented by a jury. One notable award for science fiction films and TV programs is the Saturn Award, which is presented annually by The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films. There are other national awards, like Canada's Prix Aurora Awards, Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association|language=en|access-date=2019-04-04}} regional awards, like the Endeavour Award presented at Orycon for works from the U.S. Pacific Northwest, and special interest or subgenre awards such as the Chesley Award for art, presented by the Association of Science Fiction & Fantasy Artists, or the World Fantasy Award for fantasy. World Fantasy Convention|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-04}} Magazines may organize reader polls, notably the Locus Award. Conventions, clubs, and organizations convention known as Minicon in 2006|upright=1.25]] Conventions (in fandom, often shortened as "cons," such as "comic-con") are held in cities around the world, catering to a local, regional, national, or international membership. Definiton, Examples, & Characteristics|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2019-04-05}} General-interest conventions cover all aspects of science fiction, while others focus on a particular interest like media fandom, filking, and so on. |website=www.fencon.org|language=en|access-date=2019-04-05}} Most science fiction conventions are organized by volunteers in non-profit groups, though most media-oriented events are organized by commercial promoters.Mark A. Mandel, Conomastics: The Naming of Science Fiction Conventions ( 7–9 Jan. 2010), https://www.ldc.upenn.edu/sites/www.ldc.upenn.edu/files/ads2010-conomastics.pdf The convention's activities are called the program, which may include panel discussions, readings, autograph sessions, costume masquerades, and other events. Additional activities occur throughout the convention that are not part of the program. These commonly include a dealer's room, art show, and hospitality lounge (or "con suites"). Conventions may host award ceremonies. For instance, Worldcon presents the Hugo Awards each year. SF societies, referred to as "clubs" except in formal contexts, form a year-round base of activities for science fiction fans. They may be associated with an ongoing science fiction convention, or have regular club meetings, or both. Long-established groups like the New England Science Fiction Association and the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society have clubhouses for meetings and storage of convention supplies and research materials. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) was founded by Damon Knight in 1965 as a non-profit organization to serve the community of professional science fiction authors. Fandom and fanzines Science fiction fandom is the "community of the literature of ideas, . . . the culture in which new ideas emerge and grow before being released into society at large." Members of this community ("fans"), as discussed above, are often in contact with each other at conventions or clubs, through print or online fanzines, or on the Internet using websites, mailing lists, and other resources. SF fandom emerged from the letters column in Amazing Stories magazine: soon fans began writing letters to each other, and then grouping their comments together in informal publications that became known as fanzines. Once they were in regular contact, fans wanted to meet each other, and they organized local clubs. In the 1930s, the first science fiction conventions gathered fans from a wider area. The earliest organized online fandom was the SF Lovers Community, originally a mailing list in the late 1970s with a text archive file that was updated regularly. In the 1980s, Usenet groups greatly expanded the circle of fans online. In the 1990s, the development of the World-Wide Web exploded the community of online fandom by orders of magnitude, with thousands and then millions of websites devoted to science fiction and related genres for all media. Most such sites are relatively small, ephemeral, and/or narrowly focused, though sites like SF Site and SFcrowsnest offer a broad range of references and reviews. The first science fiction fanzine, The Comet, was published in 1930 by the Science Correspondence Club in Chicago, Illionois. Fanzine printing methods have changed over the decades, from the hectograph, the mimeograph, and the ditto machine, to modern photocopying.A Word About Zines and Printing, University of Georgia Library, https://www.libs.uga.edu/hargrett/pexhibit/brooks/a%20word%20about%20zines%20and%20printing.pdf Distribution volumes rarely justify the cost of commercial printing. Contemporary fanzines are largely printed on computer printers or at local copy shops, or they may only be sent as email (termed "Ezines") or otherwise made available online (termed "webzines"). One of the best known fanzines today is Ansible, edited by David Langford, winner of numerous Hugo awards. Other notable fanzines to win one or more Hugo awards include File 770, Mimosa, and Plokta. Artists working for fanzines have frequently risen to prominence in the field, including Brad W. Foster, Teddy Harvia, and Joe Mayhew; the Hugos include a category for Best Fan Artists. Elements Science fiction elements can include, among others: *Temporal settings in the future, or in alternative histories. *Spatial settings or scenes in outer space, on other worlds, in subterranean earth, or in parallel universes. * Aspects of biology in fiction such as aliens, mutants, and enhanced humans. * Speculative or predicted technology such as brain-computer interface, bio-engineering, superintelligent computers, robots, and ray guns and other advanced weapons. * Undiscovered scientific possibilities such as teleportation, time travel, and faster-than-light travel or communication. * New and different political and social systems and situations, including Utopian, dystopian, post-apocalyptic, or post-scarcity. * Future history and evolution of humans on Earth or on other planets.Ashley, M. (April 1989). The Immortal Professor, Astro Adventures No.7, p.6. * Paranormal abilities such as mind control, telepathy, and telekinesis. International examples Subgenres Related genres Alternative terms Forrest J Ackerman is credited with first using the term "Sci-Fi" (analogous to the then-trendy "hi-fi") in 1954. As science fiction entered popular culture, writers and fans active in the field came to associate the term with low-budget, low-tech "B-movies," and with low-quality pulp science fiction. By the 1970s, critics within the field, such as Damon Knight and Terry Carr, were using "sci fi" to distinguish hack-work from serious science fiction. Peter Nicholls writes that "SF" (or "sf") is "the preferred abbreviation within the community of sf writers and readers." Robert Heinlein found even "science fiction" insufficient for certain types of works in this genre, and suggested the term speculative fiction to be used instead for those that are more "serious" or "thoughtful." |website=Open Culture|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-30|last3=Comments|first3=2016 2}} See also * Outline of science fiction * History of science fiction * Timeline of science fiction * List of science fiction authors * Extraterrestrials in fiction * Fan fiction * Fantastic art * Futures studies * List of comic science fiction * List of religious ideas in science fiction * List of science fiction and fantasy artists * List of science fiction films * List of science fiction novels * List of science fiction television programs * List of science fiction themes * List of science fiction universes * Planets in science fiction * Political ideas in science fiction * Retrofuturism * Robots in science fiction * Science fiction comics * Science fiction fandom * Science fiction libraries and museums * Science in science fiction * Speculative evolution * Technology in science fiction * Time travel in fiction * Weapons in science fiction References Lethem, Jonathan (1998), "Close Encounters: The Squandered Promise of Science Fiction", Village Voice, June. Also reprinted in a slightly expanded version under the title "Why Can't We All Live Together?: A Vision of Genre Paradise Lost" in the New York Review of Science Fiction, September 1998, Number 121, Vol 11, No. 1. Elyce Rae Helford, in Westfahl, Gary. The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Greenwood Press, 2005: 289–290. Le Guin, Ursula K. (1976) "Science Fiction and Mrs Brown," in The Language of the Night: Essays on Fantasy and Science Fiction, Perennial HarperCollins, Revised edition 1993; in Science Fiction at Large (ed. Peter Nicholls), Gollancz, London, 1976; in Explorations of the Marvellous (ed. Peter Nicholls), Fontana, London, 1978; in Speculations on Speculation. Theories of Science Fiction (eds. James Gunn and Matthew Candelaria), The Scarecrow Press, Inc. Maryland, 2005. Bennett, An Introduction, ix–xi, 120–21; Schor, Introduction to Cambridge Companion, 1–5; Seymour, 548–61. Suvin, Darko (1979) Metamorphoses of Science Fiction: On the Poetics and History of a Literary Genre, New Haven, pp. 63–84. (cf. ) Dr. Abu Shadi Al-Roubi (1982), "Ibn al-Nafis as a philosopher", Symposium on Ibn al-Nafis, Second International Conference on Islamic Medicine: Islamic Medical Organization, Kuwait (cf. Ibnul-Nafees As a Philosopher, Encyclopedia of Islamic World https://web.archive.org/web/20080206072116/http://www.islamset.com/isc/nafis/drroubi.html) Benford, Gregory (1998) "Meaning-Stuffed Dreams:Thomas Disch and the future of SF", New York Review of Science Fiction, September, Number 121, Vol. 11, No. 1 Shippey, Tom (1991) Fictional Space. Essays on Contemporary Science Fiction, page 2, Humanities Press International, Inc., NJ }} Sources * Aldiss, Brian. Billion Year Spree: The True History of Science Fiction, 1973. * Aldiss, Brian, and Wingrove, David. Trillion Year Spree: The History of Science Fiction, revised and updated edition, 1986. * Amis, Kingsley. New Maps of Hell: A Survey of Science Fiction, 1958. * Barron, Neil, ed. Anatomy of Wonder: A Critical Guide to Science Fiction (5th ed.). Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited, 2004. . * Broderick, Damien. Reading by Starlight: Postmodern Science Fiction. London: Routledge, 1995. Print. * Clute, John Science Fiction: The Illustrated Encyclopedia. London: Dorling Kindersley, 1995. . * Clute, John and Peter Nicholls, eds., The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. St Albans, Herts, UK: Granada Publishing, 1979. . * Clute, John and Peter Nicholls, eds., The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. New York: St Martin's Press, 1995. . * Disch, Thomas M. The Dreams Our Stuff Is Made Of. New York: The Free Press, 1998. . * Jameson, Fredric. Archaeologies of the Future: This Desire Called Utopia and Other Science Fictions. London and New York: Verso, 2005. * Milner, Andrew. Locating Science Fiction. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2012. * Raja, Masood Ashraf, Jason W. Ellis and Swaralipi Nandi. eds., The Postnational Fantasy: Essays on Postcolonialism, Cosmopolitics and Science Fiction. McFarland 2011. . * Reginald, Robert. Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, 1975–1991. Detroit, MI/Washington, D.C./London: Gale Research, 1992. . * * Suvin, Darko. Metamorphoses of Science Fiction: on the Poetics and History of a Literary Genre. New Haven : Yale University Press, 1979. * Weldes, Jutta, ed. To Seek Out New Worlds: Exploring Links between Science Fiction and World Politics. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. . * Westfahl, Gary, ed. The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy: Themes, Works, and Wonders (three volumes). Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2005. * Wolfe, Gary K. Critical Terms for Science Fiction and Fantasy: A Glossary and Guide to Scholarship. New York: Greenwood Press, 1986. . External links * Science Fiction (Bookshelf) at Project Gutenberg * SF Hub—resources for science fiction research, created by the University of Liverpool Library * Science fiction fanzines (current and historical) online * SFWA "Suggested Reading" list * Science Fiction Museum & Hall of Fame * Science Fiction Research Association * A selection of articles written by Mike Ashley, Iain Sinclair and others, exploring 19th-century visions of the future. from the British Library's Discovering Literature website. *Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation and Fantasy at Toronto Public Library * Science Fiction Studies' Chronological Bibliography of Science Fiction History, Theory, and Criticism Category:Science fiction Category:Speculative fiction